Taking Care of Hermione
by ayregirl
Summary: Hermione has a bad headache, her best friend takes care of her and ends up having a wonderful day with the girl of his dreams.


_**I don't own Harry Potter, just so you know.**_

_**This scene was just floating around my head so I thought I'd write it while I had a chance.**_

_**This takes place after Harry defeats Voldemort, Harry and Hermione end up going back for their seventh year while Ron goes off to be the backup keeper for the Chudley Cannons. Ron and Hermione never got together, Tonks, Fred, and Remus never died. Hermione is apprenticing Professor Flitwick and Harry is apprenticing Remus in Defense. Neville returned for his last year since his real 7th**__** year didn't work out. **_

"Ugh" Hermione moaned at the Gryffindor table during breakfast. Her head was starting to hurt and the pain relieving potion she took wasn't doing much to help.

Harry heard her quiet moan and leaned over, whispering "Mione, you ok?"

"Yeah, I've just got a bit of a headache. I'll be ok." She whispered back. She ate her toast and then grabbed her book bag and followed Neville and Harry to their first class, Potions.

Professor Slughorn greeted the three students jovially as they entered his classroom. Neville had never been the best at potion making, but he was taking the NEWT level class in order to have the background knowledge of the subject to be a better Herbology professor, which was his dream.

Harry sat next to Neville while Padma Patil took up her spot as Hermione's partner. They all worked hard making their Veritaserum. It was a long project that they were just beginning, it would take a month to complete, but would be useful knowledge for the future. Slughorn came around and commented on everyone's progress and helped them make any corrections they needed.

Walking out of the class, Hermione suddenly felt very dizzy. The headache she'd had at breakfast had only gotten worse through potions and now her head was pounding.

Harry was walking next to her and noticed her stop walking and reach over for the wall, like she was going to fall over. He looked more closely at her and realized her eyes were looking a bit glassy and she was grimacing.

"Mione… Hermione, is your head still hurting?" He saw her give a very small nod and close her eyes.

Harry could tell that she wouldn't be able to attend the rest of her classes so he put his arm around her and pulled her close.

"I'm going to put up muffliato around you ok? It'll keep out the noise of everyone else so the noisy hallway doesn't hurt you more, but that way I'll still be able to hear you. I'm gonna take you up to the dorms and get something from Pompfrey for you ok?" He wasn't sure if she was even listening, but she nodded slowly and leaned into him.

Harry cast Muffliato and looked around for Neville.

"Hey Nev! Mione has a migraine, can you tell Flitwick we won't be in class?"

Neville stopped and looked at Hermione before nodding.

"Sure, do you need anything else? I can get a potion from Madam Pompfrey if you want."

"No that's ok, we'll stop there on our way up to the tower. Thanks Nev."

After Neville walked away, Harry put his hand on the small of Hermione's back and led her toward the hospital wing. On the way, they ran into Professor Lupin who had returned to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts now that the war was over.

"Hello Harry, Hermione, how are you today?" Even though Remus was to be addressed as Professor Lupin in class, Harry and Hermione insisted that he call them by their names outside of class if he wanted to be addressed as Remus.

"I'm fine Remus, Hermione has a migraine though so we're headed toward the hospital wing and then the dorm. I've had Neville let Professor Flitwick know we won't be there for his class, would it be ok if I stay with Mione and come talk to you later after classes? I'll make up whatever I miss and I know Mione will want her assignments from today."

Remus nodded "That's fine Harry, I won't expect you in class. Dora and Teddy have been asking about you, I hope you'll come visit this weekend, you haven't been for the last two weeks."

Harry knew he'd neglected his godson for a few weeks. "Sorry Remus, I had to conduct quidditch trials and then Ron met us on Hogsmeade last weekend. I'll be there on Saturday though, I miss my favorite godson." He said smiling at the thought of seeing the toddler.

"Ok we'll all be looking forward to it. Hermione I hope you feel better soon, Harry I'll talk to you later tonight."

Harry turned to check on Hermione when she let out another quiet moan of pain. They were almost to the hospital wing so he put his arm back around her and led her up the last flight of stairs, taking off the silencing charm so she could hear if Madam Pompfrey asked her any questions.

They walked through the door and Harry sat her down on a bed. Leaning down to kiss her on the forehead, Harry whispered "I'm going to go find Poppy and then I'll get you upstairs ok? Stay here"

He walked back to Pompfrey's office and knocked. She looked to be busy filling out paperwork when he stuck his head in the door.

"Madam Pompfrey, Hermione has a migraine, I left her on a bed out there, but do you think we could just get a potion from you and I could take her back to the dorms where it'll be quiet and comfy for her?"

Madam Pompfrey gave him a searching look and then seemed to decide something. Getting up she ushered him to follow her as she went out to see Hermione, stopping to get a potion on the way.

Hermione looked up when she heard them approaching.

"Miss Granger, how are you feeling?" Madam Pompfrey asked as she performed a scan with her wand and looked into Hermione's eyes.

"Um I had a headache this morning and took a pain potion but it got much worse during Potions and now I'm really dizzy and just want to close my eyes and go to sleep." Hermione answered quietly.

"What were you working on in Potions today Mr. Potter?" The healer said as she went to retrieve a different potion.

"We started brewing Veritaserum today and she was much worse after class than she was at breakfast. Does that have something to do with it?"

The healer nodded "Yes, some of the ingredients would just exacerbate the headache that she already had. Since she took a pain potion this morning and it didn't work I'm going to give you a stronger does as well as a stomach settling potion, the dizziness will start to make her nauseous if she doesn't go right to sleep. Get her up to the dorms and then give her the potions, she'll probably fall asleep very quickly after having them. I trust you know the best ways to get rid of a headache Mr. Potter so I'll leave her in your care. If Miss Granger is not better by dinnertime let me know please."

Harry nodded, taking the potions and went back over to his best friend. Kneeling down in front of her, he put his hand on her knee to get her attention. When he saw her open her eyes and look at him he smiled.

"I've got your potions and I'm gonna take you up to the dorms, just close you eyes, I'll put the silencing spell back up till we get to the dorm and then you can go to sleep. I'll take care of you."

"You always do Harry, thank you." She said leaning down and resting her forehead against his. He smiled as she closed her eyes again and he pulled back to stand. He cast the silencing charm again, put the potions in his school bag, moved Hermione's school bag so it was more comfy over his shoulder with his own, and then he slowly put one arm around Hermione's back and the other under her knees.

He picked her up and stood the rest of the way up. She opened her eyes and looked up at him when he picked her up, but she just nodded and closed her eyes, resting her head against his chest as he started walking up the stairs toward their common room.

After a few shortcuts they finally arrived at the common room and Harry gave the password to the Fat Lady. She opened the portrait and Harry stepped through, being careful not to hit Hermione's head.

He knew he couldn't go up the girl's staircase and he didn't want to leave her in the common room, so he headed up to his own dorm room. Opening the door, Harry set Hermione down on his bed and took off the silencing charm. Finding his quidditch shirt and a pair of pajama pants, he went back over to the bed.

"Mione, change into these and I'll be back in a moment ok?" She nodded so he headed toward the bathroom. He conjured a towel and wet it with cold water. He took off his tie and his robes, if he was staying in the dorm room for the afternoon he might as well be comfy.

Knocking quietly he went back into the dorm room and saw the Hermione was dressed but still sitting on the end of the bed, head in her hands and breathing heavily.

Knowing that she was dizzy, he conjured a basin just in case she threw up and walked back over to her, sitting next to her and rubbing her back. Sure enough, he felt her tense a moment later and he rubber her back and held her hair while she was sick.

He vanished the mess and cast a cleaning charm on her mouth before picking her up and putting her under the covers of the bed. He smoothed her hair while she relaxed and kicked off his shoes.

"Mione sweetheart, you need to take these potions, one will help your stomach too I promise."

She moaned and then drank the potions he handed her, laying back down right afterwards.

"Go to sleep Mione, I'll take care of you." Harry said, kissing her forehead, lingering there a little longer than he normally did. He put the cold cloth on her forehead and rubbed her temples until she relaxed and fell asleep.

He grabbed a defense book, put a sign on the dormitory door saying to be quiet, and then settled on the bed next to his best friend. He leaned against the headboard and started reading while still running his hand through her hair and rubbing her temple. She leaned toward his hand and snuggled closer to him as she sighed in her sleep.

The friends had become much closer during their hunt for the Horcruxes, so Harry just smiled down at her she slept.

He kept reading for about an hour in the same position before he felt her start to move around a little. He took his hand away from her hair in case his touch was waking her up.

"Don't stop Harry, that feels nice" he heard her say quietly.

He looked down to see her awake and looking up at him. She smiled at him and snuggled even closer so her head was in his lap.

He started running his hand through her hair again as he put his book down.

"How are you feeling?" He asked in concern, hoping the potions had done their job and her headache went away.

"Much better, thanks to you. Thank you for taking care of me, I'm still a little tired and my neck hurts a bit from… Oh God I threw up, oh that's so embarrassing. I'm so sorry Harry!" She looked like she might cry so Harry just smiled at her.

"Mione it's ok, I told you I would take care of you, don't be embarrassed, I'm just glad you're feeling better. If you sit up I'll rub your neck to get the tightness out."

Letting a breath out and still visibly embarrassed, Hermione sat up and scooted toward Harry.

He opened his legs so she could slide back and he started rubbing her neck and back, not thinking about their position and how it could affect him until he realized she was wearing his shirt and leaning against him. He'd been trying to work up the nerve to move to the next level in their friendship, but today had really just wanted to take care of her.

He rubbed her shoulders and she started to run her hand up his knee and calf, leaning back closer to him. His hand started to go down her shoulder and then down her arm as she leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder. He moved her hair out of the way and then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. When she didn't move away from him, he moved both hands slowly down from her shoulders, to her arms, and then to her hands. Twining their fingers together slowly, he placed another kiss on the side of her neck and then another a little further down.

His soft lips traveled slowly down to her shoulder as she leaned even closer into him. She'd fallen in love with him during the Horcrux hunt and was pleased that he was taking the initiative that she so wanted him to take.

One of his hands released hers and traveled back up her arm, softly gliding over her shoulder, and then slowly, with just a whisper of a touch, his hand glided over her neck and up her cheek. It started to go back down, but he gently turned her head toward his own.

She looked into his eyes and saw the desire and passion, and most importantly love, in them before he leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft kiss. Just the touch of his lips in this fairly chaste kiss set her body on fire and she scooted closer to him.

Harry moaned and knew that Hermione was enjoying herself so he slowly turned her toward himself and she got up on her knees before leaning forward and capturing his mouth in a more passionate kiss. His hand cupped the back of her head and his fingers twined into her hair, while the other hand ran down her back and pulled her closer. She felt Harry lick her bottom lip, seeking to enter, and she let out a gasp. He took advantage of the opportunity and slipped his tongue into her mouth slowly and deepened the kiss. They explored each other's mouths and their kisses soon became frantic. His hand slipped under the back of her shirt to find the skin beneath and slowly rubbed circles there. Her hands were fisted in his unruly hair holding him to her.

Finally they both needed air, and broke the kiss. While trying to catch her breath, Hermione felt his lips slowly trailing down her neck again. They got to her shoulder and then started the journey back up.

Harry knew they needed to slow down, he loved Hermione but they had talked a lot in the tent in their months on the run and he had learned that she wanted to wait to have sex until her wedding night. He knew if he went further it would be to hard to stop, so he slowed his kisses down and finally returned to her lips, kissing her slowly, showing her that he loved her.

He finally pulled away and rested his head on her forehead and took a deep breath.

"Mione, that was amazing. You are amazing. I've been waiting so long to hold you in my arms, will you be my girlfriend?"

She beamed in happiness and nodded, kissing him again slowly before answering.

"Yes Harry, I'll be your girlfriend. I love you, thank you for taking care of me today."

Harry had never been happier. He'd known she loved him, but not like that yet.

"Mione, I love you too. I will always take care of you." He could see she was getting tired again and knew she needed to sleep off the rest of the potions she'd taken.

"Why don't you snuggle down and go back to sleep for a bit. I need to talk to Remus and get our homework and then I'll bring you dinner ok?" She nodded and slid down under the covers again. Harry got up and put his shoes back on.

Coming back to his bed, he leaned down and gave her a sweet, quick, kiss, and brushed her hair back.

"Love you Mione, I'll back in a bit. There's a sign on the door so if anyone comes in they'll be quiet."

"Ok, love you too."

Harry left the room beaming about what had just happened. They'd known each other for so long that it was natural to say they loved each other right away. He ran into Neville on his way through the common room and got a funny look from his friend.

"Hey Harry, how's Hermione doing?" Neville was still looking at him funny, but Harry just beamed.

"She's brilliant. She woke up for a bit and is feeling much better but she just went back to sleep to finish letting the potions work." He was still beaming and Neville just had to smile, he was pretty sure he knew what happened when his friend woke up.

"I let the other guys know she was in there with a bad headache, can we go in now if we're quiet?"

"Yeah that should be fine. Thanks for letting them know. You're a great friend Nev." He pat his friends back in appreciation.

"I got your work from Professor Flitwick and he said to just have Hermione come talk to him tomorrow about her apprenticeship stuff, that everyone gets sick and needs a day off occasionally so she shouldn't worry."

"Oh thanks Nev, that's brilliant. I need to go talk to Remus and get us some dinner. See you in a bit." Harry said starting to turn toward the portrait hole.

"Hey Harry? You might want to fix your hair and clothes a bit." Neville said with a smirk and then started to laugh at the look on his friend's face.

Harry just looked sheepish and smoothed his hair and shirt a bit. Trying not to look like he'd been snogging for the last half hour. He just started laughing and thanked Neville again before heading out.

He went down to Remus's room, knowing his friend and professor would have gone there for dinner to eat with his family. He was greeted by a pink haired Tonks that took one look at the smile on his face and started laughing. She pulled him in for a hug and ushered him over to where Remus was playing in the floor with Teddy.

Harry was still grinning like an idiot when Remus looked up from his son. Raising an eyebrow at his surrogate nephew, he gently turned Teddy around and laughed as his son immediately jumped up on his wobbly legs and toddled toward his godfather.

Harry beamed an even bigger smile as he bent down and captured the little boy in a hug, lifting him up in his arms and twirling him around.

Teddy's giggles sounded throughout the room and everyone started laughing. Harry finally settled on the couch with Teddy on his lap and Remus and Tonks took the seats on either side of him.

"So I take it Hermione is feeling better then?" Remus said with a smirk, making eye contact with his wife while she tried to cover up her giggles.

"Yeah she's feeling loads better. Brilliant really." Harry answered in a daze.

"Oh would that have anything to do with you snogging the daylights out of her?" Tonks said with a laugh.

Harry looked flabbergasted and then started to laugh. "Well yeah, maybe a little. We're together now, she and I. She loves me." He said dreamily at the end.

Remus smiled at that, he knew how much love Harry had had growing up and that he loved Hermione, he was so happy for his nephew. Remus put his arm around Harry and pulled him in for a hug while Tonks took Teddy into her lap.

"I'm so happy for you Harry. I know you love her. I'm so proud of the man you've become. Your parents and Sirius would have been proud too. Although, Padfoot would have taken the mickey out of you for waiting this long." Remus said with a wink, knowing that however happy Padfoot would have been, he would have still teased his godson relentlessly.

"Thanks Moony, I'm so happy right now. Oh I came to see what we missed in Defense, do I need to make anything up?"

"Nah, I think finding the love of your life was a great assignment for today, you can tell Hermione that as well. Have you had dinner yet?"

"No, I'm gonna stop in the kitchens and bring Mione some food back, I should probably get going."

Harry stood up and took Teddy back into his arms, hugging him close.

"I'll be back on Saturday ok buddy? Be good for mum and be tricky for daddy ok? We'll turn you into a proper marauder yet." Tonks took her son back and hugged Harry close, and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm so glad you're happy Harry. See you on Saturday." She said, letting him go.

Remus came up and gave him a hug as well.

"I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow Harry, love you cub." Remus didn't say he loved people often and had just realized he didn't say it to his cub at all.

Harry hugged him harder and whispered with a crack in his voice "I love you to Uncle Moony. Thank you for everything."

Both men tried to hide their glistening eyes and Harry headed for the door.

"Gotta go get some food for my girl. See you all soon. Goodnight!"

And with that, he headed toward the kitchens and then toward his dorm, back to the girl of his dreams. He'd never been happier. He had a family that loved him, a girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and some awesome friends. Nothing could make it better. Unless the house elves would make him some treacle tart…


End file.
